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4 ivory traffickers arrested with 3 tusks in Congo in a crackdown on judicial corruption. One of them is the head clerk of the high court of Dolisie who used his position to traffic seized ivory from the court’s evidence room. He was denounced by the other traffickers and a raid was carried out his home the following morning when he arrested. Two of the tusks bear markings corresponding to our operation from 2021. This is an important step in combatting corruption in the judicial system. 2 traffickers arrested with 3 elephant tusks, 41 ivory statues, and 13 hippo teeth in Togo.…

On Thursday morning, a notice of appeal was filed with the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism to revoke the Environmental Impact Certificates (ECC), according to which mining was allowed in the protected and conservanial areas southwest of Khorixas. This came after the High Court temporarily banned all mining operations in the area in an urgent procedure until the environmental officer Timoteus Mufeti made a decision on the mining applications of Timoteus Mashuna and Otilie Ndeshetelwa Ndimulunde.

South Africa is home to thousands of rhinos, including critically endangered black rhinos (Diceros bicornis) and near-threatened white rhinos (Ceratotherium simum). Poachers kill hundreds of rhinos every year, usually for the animals' horns (SN: 4/9/20). The country's police force adopted forensic entomology into its poaching prevention arsenal in 2014, training officers to collect insect evidence found at wildlife crime scenes.

A conservation group from Khorixas in the Kunene region has called on the government to help stop mining activities that could pose a threat to highly endangered black rhinos. The Khorixas conservation community travelled to Windhoek to plead with the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism through a public demonstration on Thursday. Don Andrew, leader of the group, said the community wants the government to hear their plight. "There is high unemployment in the region, and conservation and tourism cater for jobs for the people," he said.

Northern Cameroon is characterized by flat to gently undulating countryside, with vast plains and occasional rocky outcrops that stretch over a mix of dry and wet savannah landscapes. Large ephemeral rivers create seasonal wetlands and floodplains important for agriculture and wildlife. The northernmost parts of this region are a part of the Sahel, which marks a transition between the desert and the more fertile savannah to the south. The region falls within the Sudano-Sahelian climatic zone, which experiences distinct wet and dry seasons.

The game ranching industry in South Africa in the 1960s was based primarily on venison production and a small amount of photographic tourism. There was very little demand for white rhinos because they were specially protected animals; they couldn’t be safari hunted. Private landowners didn’t want rhinos because they required much capital investment in fencing and security. They were also in competition for food with other wildlife species that could generate income. The rhino was valueless.

On behalf of our communities living in Doro !Nawas and Ûibasen Twyfelfontein communal conservancies, we hereby humbly request that you prevent the mining of cheap tin in our Joint Management Area – an important area for black rhinoceros and high-value tourism. Our conservancies have worked closely with the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism and Save the Rhino Trust for 17 years to protect these rhinos. Until recently, our communities have seen few benefits from our years of dedication.

The Ministry of Environment has banned the export of white rhinos. This export ban mainly refers to the fact that the animals may not be used for breeding purposes outside their natural range. Apparently, 163 rhinos have already been born in breeding programs.

The country has recorded a decrease in arrests related to the poaching of rhinos, elephants, and pangolins, but authorities say more work is needed to combat the ongoing threat from international poaching syndicates. Speaking at a handover of donated vehicles last week, the Minister of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta said combined arrests for rhino and elephant poaching dropped from 143 last year to 91 this year. Pangolin-related crimes also saw a decline, with 30 cases recorded this year compared to 60 last year, Shifeta added.

A total of 46 rhinos, including 35 black and 11 white rhinos, have been killed in the Etosha National Park by poachers so far in 2024, minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism Pohamba Shifeta has said. He made the announcement in the capital last week during the donation of 22 vehicles and information technology (IT) equipment, valued at N$19.8 million to the ministry by the Integrated Wildlife Protection Project. The donation was co-financed by the German state-owned KfW Development Bank.

In Vhembe District, Limpopo, police have detained five men, ages 28 to 42, in connection with illegal hunting activities and obstruction of justice. According to Colonel Malesela Ledwaba, the provincial police spokesperson, the arrests took place on Sunday in the villages of Bennde-Mutale and Nkotswi. According to IOL, the suspects are accused of hunting buffalo unlawfully within the Kruger National Park. During the incident, one member of the group was fatally injured by a buffalo.

The High Court granted an interdict this week ?? which keeps Ottilie Ndimulunde from carrying out mining operations and building a road or anything else on her mine mines in the Khorixas area. The interdict will be valid pending the outcome of a review application to the Environment Commissioner against the Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC) issued. The Doro ! Nawas Conservation Area, Ûibasen Twyfelfontein Conservation Area, the ≠Aodaman Traditional Authority and the company Ultimate Safaris have brought an urgent application against Ndimulunde.

Shifeta also mentioned that the additional patrol vehicles will especially help ensure that units can reduce their response time. He said that the donated IT equipment will broaden their capabilities to deal with the administrative challenges of wildlife protection, as well as improve the monitoring and reporting of patrol efforts to demonstrate the impact of the money invested in the wildlife protection services.

The environmental commissioner has been ordered to decide by next Thursday whether environmental clearance certificates issued to a holder of mining claims in the Kunene region should be suspended or cancelled. Judge Esi Schimming-Chase issued the order in the Windhoek High Court yesterday. She also ordered that no mining activities may take place on eight mining claims held by Windhoek resident Ottilie Ndimulunde until the environmental commissioner has made his decision.

The group of men was illegally hunting for buffalo in the Kruger National Park when one of them was attacked by a buffalo. "The group shot the buffalo and one of the accomplices removed the injured victim, who was deceased, from the scene and placed him next to the fence of the park. One of them returned home to inform relatives to come and pick him up," said Ledwaba. The alerted relative went and picked up the deceased man's body.

Environment minister Pohamba Shifeta has revealed plans to submit a Cabinet proposal to allow Namibia to sell or dispose of its tonnes of ivory and rhino horn stockpiles. In May, five nations that make up the Kavango-Zambezi (KAZA) trans-frontier conservation area: Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, and Angola jointly called for the lifting of a ban on ivory sales imposed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Following the export of 42 white rhinos from Namibia to the USA in a private sale, the environment ministry last week said it aims to introduce stricter exporting regulations. The 42 white rhinos, purchased from Kifaru Luxury Lodge and Bush Camp near Outjo, landed safely in Texas, USA, after being airlifted from Hosea Kutako Airport and transported on a Boeing 747.

Illegal wildlife trade (IWT) is increasingly taking place online, with social media and e-commerce platforms being used to facilitate the sale of endangered species. Data collected from May to July 2024 reveals that 477 online advertisements were detected for 18 protected species across Brazil and South Africa. Shockingly, 78% of these ads were posted on platforms like Facebook, making social media a major player in the online wildlife trade.

Two American hunters have applied to import black rhino hunting trophies from Namibia. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service requested comments with regards to the two applications - one from a hunter in Texas and another from a hunter in Florida. "We invite the (American) public to comment on applications to conduct certain activities with foreign species that are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act," a statement read. Comments must be received by 24 October. The rhinos - Lippie and Willem, aged 28 and 31 - were hunted in Namibia.